Roads and rail update

As mentioned previously, Cambridge Street has been reopened between Paradise Circus Queensway and King Edwards Road following the incident at the Library of Birmingham.

Elsewhere traffic has now returned to normal on the M6 northbound between J6 and J7 following that earlier breakdown, though it’s still slow-moving on the M5 northbound between J6 and J4A through the roadworks.

On the trains, for anyone heading north via Crewe this evening, Virgin Trains have reported that some lines are currently blocked due to a fire near the railway.

18:24

Library of Birmingham incident over

Police have said the incident at the Library of Birmingham has now been safely resolved. The woman involved, a 25-year-old, is being looked after by officers.

The cordon on Cambridge Street has now been lifted.

18:09

Library of Birmingham incident: Vulnerable woman on balcony

Police say they are currently speaking to a vulnerable woman on the third floor balcony at the Library of Birmingham.

Officers were called to the scene by a member of the public at around 4.25pm. A specialist negotiator is in attendance.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We are asking people to avoid the area while attempts are made to safely resolve the matter.”

We’ll bring you more updates as and when we get them.

The Library of Birmingham

18:04

Police incident at Library of Birmingham

Police have cordoned off Cambridge Street in the city centre due to an incident at the Library of Birmingham. The road is closed between Paradise Circus Queensway and King Edwards Road.

More details as soon as we have them.

18:00Darren Campbell

Digbeth Dining Club and other top street food events this weekend

The weather is getting warmer, so what better way to spend the weekend than diving into some heavenly street food - starting tonight!

From today, you can forget April Fools’ Day and think Foodie Day with Digbeth First Friday offering a range of tempting foodie treats to try.

There is a veritable feast of foodie events going on around Birmingham over the next couple of days. The action starts in Digbeth this evening and then on to Bournville and finally ending your gastronomic tour on Sunday.

Digbeth Dining Club takes place every week beneath the arches of Duddeston Viaduct (Image: Tom-Horton.co.uk)

17:42Darren Campbell

Kings Heath terrorist gave bomb tips to extremist planning UK attack

An Islamic extremist found guilty of planning a terror attack on US military personnel in Britain had exchanged chilling messages with Birmingham-born terrorist Junaid Hussain.

Delivery driver Junead Khan, 25, used his job with a pharmaceutical firm as cover to scout United States Air Force bases in East Anglia.

Junead Khan and Shazib Khan

Detectives later found he had been exchanging chilling online messages with an Islamic State fighter in Syria calling himself Abu Hussain, including describing attacking military personnel after faking a road accident.

Prosecutors claimed Hussain was Kings Heath hacker Junaid Hussain, who was killed in a US drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqqa in August 2015.

Motorways update

The latest on the motorways as we get deep into rush hour: One lane is closed on the northbound M6 between J6 and J7, where a vehicle has broken down.

Traffic is still slow through the roadworks on the northbound M5, with delays between J6 and J4A. There are also queues further up between J1 and M6 J8.

17:17Darren Campbell

Football: Villa a 'laughing stock', says Paul Merson

Our top football story this afternoon: Paul Merson has labelled Aston Villa a ‘laughing stock’ after yet another action-packed week in the Midlands.

On Tuesday, Remi Garde departed after an agreement over his compensation package was finally struck following a disastrous 20-game tenure.

Days before, long-serving striker Gabby Agbonlahor, was pictured on holiday in Dubai with skipper Micah Richards, who would later call a Villa supporter ‘a clown’ on social media.

Agbonlahor has now been axed from tomorrow’s clash with Chelsea pending an internal investigation into his behaviour in the UAE after he was snapped with a shisha pipe. Richards is not under investigation and will be available for selection.

Top sport stories

Here’s a quick glance over some of our sporting headlines around the Midlands today:

Merson: Villa are a laughing stock - Paul Merson has labelled Aston Villa a ‘laughing stock’ after yet another action-packed week in the Midlands. More here

Blues’ Morrison on Charlton return - Michael Morrison will lead Birmingham City out at The Valley on Saturday as he returns to the club he left for Blues for the first time. More here

Jack Grealish was part of the Villa squad training for the Chelsea clash

Grealish and Traore in Villa training for Chelsea - Adama Traore and Jack Grealish were part of the squad preparing for Aston Villa’s welcoming of Chelsea as the claret and blues were put through their paces on Friday. More here

Pulis: Albion must embrace tough run-in - West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis wants his players to “embrace” the pressure cooker atmospheres they will face during a tricky run-in at some of the country’s most imposing stadiums. More here

16:48Darren Campbell

The Drum to close down amid funding crisis

The Drum arts centre in Aston is likely to close its doors after 22 years.

The venue is due to shut in June unless a new source of funding can be found.

The Drum, which had been due to undergo a major extension, has become known for organising the annual free Simmer Down Festival in Handsworth Park, which had Steel Pulse and Apache Indian on stage.

Roads and rail update

For anyone heading towards Norton Canes in Staffordshire this afternoon, there is an accident currently partly blocking the A5 Watling Street at Turf Island.

Meanwhile traffic is slow on A41 The Rock in Tettenhall due to the roadworks at Henwood Road, while works are also causing delays on the westbound A463 Black Country Route between Oxford Street Island and Coseley Road Island.

Better news on the railways, where the speed restrictions between Birmingham International and Coventry have been removed and Virgin Trains, London Midland and CrossCountry services are running as normal again.

16:19Darren Campbell

More armed police for Birmingham to handle terror threat

Another of our top stories from earlier today: More armed police officers will be stationed in the West Midlands to handle any Paris-style terror attacks.

The “significant” increase in counter-terror squads includes a share of 400 extra officers ready to be deployed to cities, including Birmingham.

More armed officers will be available in Birmingham to meet terror threat

There will also be extra specialist armed response vehicles to enable officers to attend incidents at speed.

The move comes after a Government review of the capacity and capability of Britain’s police forces to act in the event of “complex” attacks, similar to that on Charlie Hebdo or the simultaneous strikes launched in Paris in November.

Drug dealer caught with £260k of heroin after being stopped for speeding

A drug dealer has been jailed after being caught red-handed with £260,0000 of heroin by police - after being pulled over for speeding.

Officers from Central Motorway Police Group stopped Kamal Choudhury, 23, as he raced through Spaghetti Junction on the M6 in February.

Kamal Choudhury

When police conducted checks on his Volkswagen Passat they found he did not have any insurance and seized his car. Yet their suspicions were aroused as they helped Choudhury and his female passenger unload their car - because of the weight of one of their bags.

A subsequent search discovered heroin with a street value of £266,700 in two plastic blocks covered in duct tape.

Roads and rail update

Quick update on how the roads and railways are looking at present: There’s an accident blocking one lane of the M6 southbound exit slip road at J9 before the traffic lights beneath the motorway.

The roadworks on the M5 northbound are causing delays again this afternoon, with traffic slow between J6 and J4.

Meanwhile on the railways, there are possible delays of around ten minutes on Virgin Trains, London Midland and CrossCountry between Birmingham International and Coventry due to speed restrictions within a tunnel on this stretch.

15:35Darren Campbell

Police seize £2m of cannabis in one month

One of our top stories today: Cannabis worth an estimated £2 million was seized by police in the West Midlands in March.

The Cannabis Disposal team of West Midlands Police discovered several thousand plants being cultivated in specially-equipped cannabis factories in a series of raids across the region.

Many of the operations followed tip-offs from members of the public.

In one of the biggest operations, almost £1 million worth of drugs were discovered being grown in a massive cannabis factory which was found in a former Birmingham school.